Yarn tensioning device



June 12, 1956 E. J. HElzER ET AL 2,750,130

YARN TENSIONING DEVICE Filed OCT.. 4, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l A TIURNEYJune 12, 1956 E. J. HEIZER ET AL 2,750,130

YARN TENSIONING DEVICE Filed Oct. 4, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENToR.Edu/fdd Heizer BY Ea/zaazjdA .Wen [z ATTDM United States Patent YARNTENSIONING DEVICE Edward] Heizer, MountainLakes, -and-EdwardlA. Wentz,MontclairN...l., assignorsl to Specialties Development Corporation,Belleville, N. J., a corporation` of New Jersey Application October 4,1952, Serial No. 313,1645

2 Claims. (Cl. 242-149) The present invention relates. to yarn tensioncompensating devices, and, more particularly, tov adevice for uniformlytensioning yarn, such. as tire cord', prior to impregnating, stretchingand: dryingthe yarn.

Heretofore, itV hasV been proposed to tension yarn inpreparation forprocessing. the same in the aforementioned manner by a device generallycomprising a' roll having aperipheral yarn receiving groove, a-pivotallymounted arm having a yarn guide lat one end, a snubbing roller rotatablymounted on the arm positioned to extend into the groove with the yarnvbetween the rollerl and the bottom of the groove, and resilient meansfor urging thearm in a direction to cause the roller tol extend into thegroove and apply pressure on yar-n in the groove.

While this device tensioned the yarny inthe desiredmanner, it was foundthat the bearing for rotatably mounting thev snubbing roller wasTvsubjectedv toconsider-- able. wear whereby the roller would` tend todrag and.

uniform tension which is not subject to the foregoing.

diculties and objections.

Another object is to provide such a device which does not. impair theyarn or cause frequent breakage. thereof.

Another object is to provide such a device which is readily` threaded.

A further object is to provide such a device which is simple inconstruction and is economical to manu-- facture and install.

A still further. object is to provide such a device which is practicaland reliable in` operation and can withstand continuous usage for a longperiod of time.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment'about to be described, orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein willl occur to one skilled in the art upon em-`ployment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the invention, the foregoing objects are.accomplished'v by providing a yarn tensioning deviceV which generallycomprises a roll having acylindrical surface; an arm having ayarn guiderat one'end, means for pivotally mounting the-arm, a shoe mounted on thearm having an arcuate surface conforming substantially tothe surface ofthe roll, and resilient means for urging the arm in a. direction toAcause the shoe. to engage the roll, whereby yarn passing between theshoeandthe roll surfaces'is adapted to be tensioned.

Such pinching` impaired Patented; June 12, 1956v ICC A preferredembodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustrationand description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming apart of the speciication, wherein:

Fig. l is a` fragmentary perspective view of a` yarn tensioning devicein accordance with the invention, the lower portion thereof not being.shown.

Fig. 2. is a plan view of the device, with a portion of the top brokenaway.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of one set of the yarn tensioningelements, illustrating thel operation of the device.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along theV line 4 4 on Fig. 3,illustrating a. shoe. positioned against the roll.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view` taken along the line 5--5' on Fig. 3,illustratingv a detail of the yarn tensioning elements.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown a device fortensioning a plurality of ends of yarn, for example, fifty ends, itbeing understood that the features of the device shown may be embodiedin other devices designed to tension a single end or any other desirednumber of ends of yarn.

The. device comprises'a base or supporting structure having a generallyvrectangular top or platform 10' and upright legs 11, 12, 13:l and 14 atthe corners thereof (Fig. l). The legs 11 and 122 are channel-shaped andeach has a slot. in the web at the upper endy thereof. A pin, shaft oraxlev 16 extends horizontally through the side flanges of each of theselegs adjacent the slot. for pivotally mountingy a frame about to bedescribed.

The: frame comprises a pair of parallel side members 20, each of whichis supported in one of the legs 111 or 12 by one of' the pins 16 forpivotal or rocking movement ina vertical plane, a horizontal shaft 21mounted in bearings 22 secured to the side members, respectively,

adjacent their upper ends, a horizontal shaft 24 mountedl in bearings 25secured to the side members, respectively, adjacent their lower ends,and* a horizontal bar or rodV 26 having its ends secured tothe sidemembers; respectively, adjacent their upper endsand` having yarn guidengers 27` thereon;

The upper shaft 21 has a roll 'itlmountedY thereon for rotationtherewith and. has a pulleyl orf-sprocket 31 atone end thereof adaptedtobe driven by suitable drive mechanism (notshown) to rotatethe shaft andthe roll. The yarn is drawn over the roll 30, as indicated by thearrowsapplied thereto in Fig. 3, by mechanism not shown herein, and theroll 30 is caused torotate in the direction in which the yarn is drawn,but at a somewhat slower surface speed. than the lineal speed of` theyarn, whereby sliding friction between the roll and the yarn tensionsthek latter.

The roll 30 has` a substantially smooth cylindrical surface-about whichtheV ends ofA yarns pass, and'consequentl'y can" be produced at a. lowercost than a roll having peripheral. grooves therein.

Yarn tensioning'means cooperatingwith the roll 30i include apluralityof'armtunits` or assemblies'34 corresponding in number to the. numberVof ends passed" about the roll. These arms are pivotally mounted and?arranged side by side onta rod 3S which is supported' by a series ofbrackets.v 36 secured' to the top 1'0',4 the rod 3S being parallel toVthe roll supporting shaft 21.

As illustrated moreparticularly in Figs; 3 to' 5, the arm'f units-34each comprise apair: of' armA members'37'andV 38 pivotally mounted on-abushing 40:'having aside flange 4l and. a retaining. ring 43 securedthereto for connecting;KV

each setofarmmembersas aum't and the bushinghaving the rod 35 extendingtherethrough;

The; arm. members 37. extend. upwardly a` substantial distance above theroll 30 to provide a desired mechanical advantage, and the upperportions thereof are curved to extend over the roll and each have a yarnguide 42 at the free end thereof. A stop, such as pin 44, is provided oneach of the arm members 37 between the upper end and the pivot rod 35.

The arm members 38 are shorter than the arm members 37, and each has itsupper end 45 formed and arranged to engage the pin 44 of the longer armmember 37 associated therewith under the influence of resilienty meanssuch as a spring 46 connected to the lower ends of each set of armmembers 37 and 38. Each of the arm members 38 has a shoe 47 pivotallymounted thereon intermediate the upper end thereon and the pivot rod 35by means of a stud 48. The shoe 47 is in vertical alignment with theguide 42 of its arm unit.

The arms units 34 are each urged in a direction to cause the shoes 47 toengage and apply pressure on the ends of yarn passing over the surface32 by a spring 49 having one end connected to the lower end of the armmember 37 and having its other end connected to the side of the topopposite the roll 30. Preferably, the springs 49 each are arranged toadjust the tension thereof by a threaded sleeve 50 having the springattached thereto and a bolt or screw 51 anchored on the supportingstructure and extending into the sleeve, whereby threading of the sleeve50 on the bolt 51 results in adjustment of the effective tension of thespring. In this manner, the tension springs are adjustable individuallyto cause each arm unit 34 through its shoe 47 to apply the sametensioning force on the ends of yarn.

In order to limit the pressure which can be applied by the shoes 47 onthe yarn, the springs 46 are somewhat weaker than the springs 49 and arethereby adapted to yield and permit pivotal movement of the arm members37 and 38 with respect to each other when the tension applying force ofthe springs 49 becomes excessive. In this manner, the shoes 47 areprevented from applying an excessive snubbing force which might impairthe yarn.

The shoes 47 are constructed of high carbon steel, such as tool steel,which is adapted to be hardened throughout; and are in the form ofplatelike elements having an arcuate surface 52 of considerable widthconforming substantially to the contour of the surface 32 of the roll,that is, the surfaces 32 and 52 have about the same radius. The shoessurfaces 52 are polished smooth, and have rounded end and side edgeswhich prevent the yarn from being impaired when drawn between the rollsurface and the shoe surfaces, as described hereinafter. For the purposeabout to be made apparent, the shoes have a toe section 53 (Fig. 3)adjacent the lower end of the arcuate surface, and a passageway 54,through which the yarn is guided, extends upwardly through this toesection with its upper end terminating at the surfaces 52 adjacent itslower end. Pivotal movement of the shoes 47 is limited by providing thesame with a thickened section 57 (Fig. 4) adjacent the surface 52adapted to engage the edge of the arm member 38 facing the roll 30.

As shown in Fig. 3, the yarn passes under the roll 30, upwardly throughthe shoe passageway 54 and between the roll surface and shoe surface 52,and then over a yarn guide 42, whereby a desired output tension is putinto the yarn. Should the output tension exceed its desiredpredetermined value, the upper portion of the arm member 37 is movedslightly lockwise, as viewed, about its pivot rod 35 in opposition tothe spring 49, and carries with it the arm member 38 by reason of thestop pin 44 to move the shoe 47 slightly away from the roll 30 to lessenthe snubbing effect thereof on the yarn, whereby the output tension isadjusted to its desired predetermined value.

Excessive movement of the arm units 34 in such a' clockwise direction isprevented by a rod or bar 55 supported between the brackets 36, parallelto and below the rod 35, which is adapted to be engaged by the lowerends suddenly become of a high value, for example, due to snagging atits source of supply, the arm member 37 for such strand is moved in aclockwise direction until its arm member 38 engages the bar 55, wherebythe shoe 47 of the latter arm member is moved away from the roll 30 aconsiderable distance. Should the end be subjected to a tension causingit to break, the spring 49 will rock the arm in a counterclockwisedirection and the shoe 47 will re-engage the roll surface with at leasta section of the yarn end therebetween. Damage to the yarn is preventedwhen this occurs, in spite of the rapid return of the arm member 38under the influence of its spring 49, by reason of the pivoted mountingof the arm members 37 and 38 and the spring 46 connecting the lower endsof these arm members. For example, when the shoe engages the yarn,movement of the arm member 38 stops and the inertia force of the armmember 37 tending to rock it in a counterclockwise direction (as viewedin Fig. 3) is opposed by the force of the spring 46 which thus functionsas shock absorbing means.

l As previously mentioned, the springs 46 have another advantageousfunction in that they prevent excessive pressure on the yarn by theshoes 47 should the springs 49 be overloaded. Should such a conditionexist, the springs 46 will yield and the arm members 37 will be rockedin a counterclockwise direction with respect to the arm members 38 (asviewed) by the springs 49, whereby the pressure applied to the yarn bythe shoes will be limited b the weaker springs 46. v

In order to facilitate threading the yarn through the passageways 54 ofthe shoes, the frame supporting the roll shaft 21 is arranged to berocked about its pivot pins 16 in a direction to move the roll 30 awayfrom'th'eshoes'47 of the arm units. In threading the machine, theends'of yarn need only be passed through the passageway and need not beplaced against the shoe surfaces 52 because, upon operation of themachine, the ends are tensioned and are pulled between the roll and theshoesurfaces. The rounded edges of the shoe surfaces prevent thc yarnfrom being impaired when so drawn into position.

The arm units are prevented from following the roll 30 by a rod or bar56 supported between the brackets 36, parallel to the rod 55 but at theopposite side of the lower ends of the arm units, which is adapted to beengaged by the lower ends of the arm members 37 (Fig. 3).

Suitable mechanism for so rocking the frame may comprise a pair ofpneumatic or hydraulic cylinders 59 (only one of which is shown) eachhaving one end pivotally connected at 60 adjacent the legs 13 and 14,respectively, a piston in each cylinder (not shown), and a piston rod 6lextending outwardly of each piston and having its free end journalled tothe shaft 24 of the frame at 62. The pistons in the cylinders areadapted to be moved simultaneously (in either direction) to move theroll outwardly or to return the same, under the control of a suitablevalve 6 4', operated by a handle 65. The valve is operatively connectedto a pressure medium supply line 66 and to the cylinders in anyconventional manner.

From the foregoing description, it will be scen that the presentinvention provides a simple and practical yarn tensioning device adaptedfor putting a substantial tension of a uniform value in a single end ora plurality of ends of yarn. readily adjusted, are constructed andarranged to prevent impairment of the yarn, and are readily threaded.The device is rugged in construction and can withstand such rough usageto which it may normally be subjected without replacement or repair ofparts.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein, without departing from the Spirit and scope oftheinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunder- The yarn tensioning elements arel 5 stood that al1 matter hereinis to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a yarn tensioning device, a roll having a cylindrical surfaceadapted to rotate about its longitudinal axis, an arm having a yarnguide at one end, means for pivotally mounting said arm, said axis ofsaid roll lbeing in a plane spaced from and parallel to the axisy ofsaid mounting means, a shoe pivotally mounted on said arm having anarcuate recess provided with a surface conforming substantially to thecontour of the surface of said roll and in registry therewith and havinga toe section formed with a yarn guiding aperture extending through saidtoe section from one end of said shoe and References Cited in the le ofthis patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS 589,222 Pratt Aug. 31, 1897 745,123Tuseth Nov. 24, 1903 2,242,053 Chapman May 13, 1941 2,570,617 Wentz Oct.9, 1951

